Oh it feels SO GOOD to have everything DONE!
Well, all the tilling at least. 😉 Manny and the HH have been such a big help this year, pulling up roots and smoothing out the rows for me. I plan on tilling up the garden beds next year again {to make sure we’ve gotten the majority of the roots out of the ground} and then after that, I plan to start building lasagna garden beds.
There were so many large and established prickly {and unwanted} plants in the back, that the area needed to be totally cleared out before we began installing garden beds. Last year, I tried to get a handle on the area, but for a gardener, moving into a home at the beginning of Spring {and then dealing with Lucy’s illness, the ticks, poison ivy and then visitors} was sort of difficult and the garden went downhill real quick. Or at least it seemed that way to me anyway.
I wasn’t going to plant any potatoes this year {not with the 70+ year old Clarence selling 50 pounds sacks of potatoes at his little farm stand in town} but a few weeks ago when I noticed a small bag of potatoes sprouting in the pantry, and decided to set them aside for the garden.
Yesterday, I dug a few holes and threw them in. We’ll see what happens.
The battle with the squirrels and the Droll Yankee bird feeder. We’ve finally got a handle on it. After walking by a hook on the back of the house {originally put there for a hanging basket I imagine} about a hundred million times, we suddenly noticed it last week and thought HEY… I bet if we moved the bird feeder from the cherry tree and hung it from the hanging basket hook the squirrels would stop stealing the birdseed.
So far so good. The birds have found the feeder and the squirrels have not figured out how to climbs the walls. Yet.
Mystery Bush of the Week: Any ideas?
Not.A.Weed.In.Sight. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 Last year though… it was a different story. 😉 Hop on over HERE to see what this spot looked like last year. Talk about night and day. You can take the girl out of suburbia, but you can’t take away her Casoron!
No wonder the ticks were all over Lucy. The weeds. There were soooo many of them.
Prepping for the wall of spinner gourds… or mini pumpkins. I haven’t decided yet.
The pumpkins are up! I plan on getting these in the ground later today before it starts raining. Last year I planted pumpkin seeds directly in the ground. As soon as they popped their little leaves through the soil, the birds pulled them right up. So this year, I started the seeds in the greenhouse. 😉 We’ll see if it helps. But I think it will, as now the seedlings will be too big for them to yank up.
I’ll set out my flat of basil today too, between the rows of tomatoes. Companion planting. It’s pretty awesome.
The view from the back of the garden. 🙂 🙂 🙂
And last but not least, this morning I went out to snap a few garden pictures, and surprise surprise, Peter Rabbit was in our garden. What he was munching on I have no idea {clearly it wasn’t the poison ivy} but he did manage to squeeze though the horse fencing {that has an opening of 2″ x 3″} to escape, leaving a little of his fur behind.
Which begs the question, how does one keep rabbits {and wild turkeys!} out of the yard when you have an enormous vegetable garden? Because really, enclosing my garden with hardware cloth on all sides {and the top to keep out the squirrels} is just is not an option.
I don’t mind if they come for a little nibble once in a while, I mean really, everyone/everything needs to eat. I just don’t want my garden to be totally ruined.
Do you have any suggestions? I’d love to hear about them.
Have a great Tuesday everyone. Keep calm and garden on.
~Mavis
Lacy says
Looking fantastic! I can’t wait to see pictures throughout the season. Could your mystery plant be a flowering quince?
Shari says
Bush may be flowering quince?
Staci says
I agree with Shari, this looks like a flowering quince. We have a few and they will spread slowly through root growth. Lovely in spring. Birds enjoy the dense foliage for nesting and my chickens love to hide under them. 🙂
Julia says
I agree too.
Renay bennett says
The only thing is…those leaves look evergreen. Quince is deciduous. Could it be a late blooming Camellia? I have one that still has some blooms on it right now in Bellevue WA.
Maryellen says
It looks like our camellias, too!
Camie Wood says
I was thinking it had to be in the camellia family with those leaves.
Vicki in Birmingham says
I am thinking the mystery plant is Flowering Quince too.
Connie says
Everything looks so nice Mavis. But it also looks like a lot of work!
Mrs. C. says
Premier1 electric fencing is how you keep critters out of the garden. It is portable, so you can move it around, and comes in different sized netting and lengths. You will need an energizer, which they also sell, and it could be either solar or plug-in. It is not cheap, but it is a lot cheaper and less labor intensive than setting up permanent fencing
Mrs. C. says
In the first few minutes of this video, you can see them setting up the fence around their garden. c have to lay weed barrier cloth around the permiter or make sure to weed whack because if the weeds get too tall, the fence will not hold a charge properly.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iZIoWXp09RQ
Mim says
Ditto. It works for above-ground animals like squirrels, rabbits, deer, but I don’t think it really fits your aesthetic — although they may be making the garden fence in green now… For now, you might try sonic spikes. (Look for Sweeney’s on Amazon. They also carry them at most hardware stores.) They work pretty well for me to deter the groundhogs. I also use the Havahart motion-activated repellents. You hook them up to a hose and they shoot out a spray of water at any critter that comes in. I just connect them to the existing garden hoses at the end of the day.
Mrs. C. says
And here is another helpful video showing how to set up the fence and how NOT to put it away.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9NY7STD8bYE
Carole Parker says
I agree, electric fencing. It’s the only thing that works here in South Texas and we’ve tried everything. Works on squirrels, racoons, possums and cats. We use the solar one. Gives curious husbands a nice fire too
Carole says
Bite not fire, auto correct
Linda says
Gee, and just when I was going out to get some.
Richelle says
Lol
Deborah says
The mystery plant looks like a wild rose to me. We had some similar, but the flowers were white.
Love your gardening updates. I’m enjoying your gardening as I can’t garden this year. We’ve had so much rain that the garden spot is so wet we can’t even mow the grass, much less till it up.
Amanda says
I have had luck keeping some small critters away by spreading dirty dog hair around the perimeter of my beds a few times a year. I don’t put it directly on the beds because , ew, I just sprinkle around the edges. It’s supposed to ward them off by smelling like a predator is nearby so they go nest somewhere else. It’s easy for me because I’m a dog groomer and have an endless supply but if you ask a local groomer to save some for you I know they will since I do it all the time for other gardeners. Just try to pick it up the same day so they don’t have to store a bag of hair for too long and they’ll be happy.
Nancy says
We have had really good results with sprinkling cayenne pepper on our plants. Doesn’t deter the birds but has worked well for all else. I buy the big container of it at Sam’s Club. I had a neighbor who grated Irish Spring soap and sprinkled it around with good results; another bought super cheap, highly fragranced laundry detergent and sprinkled it around the perimeter of his garden.
Ray says
Your mystery plant looks like a red Camilla.
Diana says
I agree with Ray. The leaf and the flower look like Camellia. They usually bloom during late winter-early spring here in GA, but this could be a later variety.
As for what to plant behind the house, why not both gourds and pumpkins? No need to limit yourself, lol..
House and gardens are looking wonderful!
Jenny says
I think the mystery plant is a camellia.
Margo says
I thought the mystery plant was a Rose of Sharon. We used to have some of them when I was growing up in New Jersey.
Katrina says
I also think it’s a Rose Of Sharon. I live in southern CA and have Hibiscus bushes that are in bloom. I believe Rose of Sharon is a type of hibiscus. The red color you have is beautiful
Cindi says
That premier electric fencing is the bomb, but if you don’t want to go that route, we have successfully kept out rabbits with rabbit fencing two feet high around the garden beds. It really is going to take some kind of physical barrier. Just be glad you don’t have deer. They require an 8-foot fence.
Tracy says
It’s only a matter of time before she does have deer!
Julie T says
Deed, with every picture, your place seems like it gets bigger and bigger…just how many acres are you living on?
Jo Lynn says
Mystery plant guess: rose of sharon
Kathleen says
With regard to repelling critters, I use Shake Away. I shake it around the perimeter of my garden at least once per week, and re-apply after a heavy rain. In addition, I mix 2 parts cayenne pepper to 1 part flour and shake it on the tops of the plants. These two tips were given to me by a fellow gardener in a community garden years ago and I have never had my crops eaten by little critters. If you use Shake Away, I recommend you follow a suggestion that I found in the reviews – don’t use the shaker top. Put on a disposable glove and distribute the granules by hand. You will use much less this way and one container has lasted me more than summer season. Throw the glove away when you are done – it will stink. Here is an Amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005VZYCQM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
BARBARA GANTT says
Flowering quince , the fruit look similar to apples. Makes a great jelly, they are ready to pick in the fall.
E in Upstate NY says
I never harvested enough to make jelly, my kids used them as baseballs!
Lynda Kling says
Get some of that fencing with 1/4″ holes….put it into the ground a bit.
Renay says
Hi Mavis! What are all those outbuildings you have? I know one is the greenhouse. Do you have a barn, too? If so, I think you should get goats! They are cute and will eat a bunch of brush so you don’t have to kill your back! lol Aren’t gardens great this time of year? 😉
Nancy from mass says
I think the plant is a Camillia. Definitely not a rose of Sharon. Rose of sharons typically don’t bloom until July or August. And in fact the 50 or so trees in my yard are just starting to leaf. As far as your birdfeeder hanging on a plant hook, we used to have a birdfeeder suction cupped to one of my windows. It didn’t take long for the squirrels to find it and climb the side of my house to get to it. I was constantly banging on the window to scare them.
Cherri Fagen says
Your yard/garden is looking so nice. You make me envious, all your energy! Love your tray of basil, my favorite! I have been known to go into the garden section of stores just to smell the basil. I got my potatoes planted today, so I am feeling productive. My onions and garlic are both up and looking good. Have not gardened for the last two years, so I am especially excited about this growing season. Sunday I picked 25 lbs. of rhubarb from my two plants (they were loving the spring rains I guess) and have canned 16 pints of sauce, 5 pints of pancake syrup and froze 2 gallons chopped for winter use. Spring is here!! 🙂
Jacqueline says
It’s a Camellia!
Laura Z says
Yuletide camellias!
Susan H. says
Growing up in WV we had bushes like your photo. The ‘old timers’ called them Moses and the Burning Bush. They bloom not long after forsythia and established bushes are beautiful. I use cayenne pepper and ground red pepper to deter squirrels and cats from digging in our garden. I have successfully used garlic powder to deter groundhogs. They love green peppers. At my house you ‘season’ my veggies BEFORE they are harvested!
Jen says
Ticks love mulch, FYI.
Pam says
Gardens are pretty without fencing but in the country it is nearly impossible to have one without fencing. Once they find your garden they will not leave it alone. If you do put in fencing I put chicken wire along the bottom to keep the bunnies out.